San Ferdinando Di Puglia

  We really hadn't intended coming up this coast. We thought we would cross to the west coast and take in Naples and Rome but I'm pleased the wind was blowing the way it was when we left Bari because this is a great route. One fishing village after another, all pretty !

These old fellows were catching crabs for bait in Giovanezzo. 1st village today

Then came Molfetta. A 16th century town with a big commercial fleet as well. The man is selling squid and the old lady is bagging beans for sale

A big bag of cherrys cost €2. Yum!

Trani was next with lunch beside a 12th century castle,.

Barletta was the biggest with huge beachs ,all carefully groomed for the summer visitors expected in a few weeks. The water was sooo warm yet I was the only one in. 

Enough messing about . We need to get further north. It's 23' today and the wind is blowing right up our jacksy

We've done 68kms by the time we reach

 San Ferdinando so we booked into the only pub in town ,rested up then joined the locals for their evening promenade . This is such an Italian thing and we love it. They come out in the cool of the evening and just stroll ! Chatting, eating, very sociable. 

We had such a lot of fun with the locals as we were waiting. Using sign language we managed to tell them we had 13 grand bambinos and we were visiting by bike.  The 'crazy' sign was easy to understand !

The Adriatic Coast

Whew !  16 hours on a ferry!

 We disembarked at 10.30 to a lovely day AND a tail wind. 

 

Christine wears the new biking top that Graeme gave her...and ...I get to mend another puncture

Right beside us is the ferry that recently caught fire on the same crossing.

  

All along the waterfront as we rode out of Bari,people were sunbathing or playing cards. Lovely atmosphere.

  We came across a 'protest' ride by about 100 cyclists .They had the local Mayor with them and they were asking for better access along the waterfront. A bit like the rally in Tauranga we attended before leaving. A couple came with us to show us the way out of town, one even helping Christine over a difficult bit

We're dog tired after last night so after only about 30kms we stopped at L'hotel del Sole. Well over budget but right on the beach. We're looking forward to exploring the ancient town of Malfetta in the morning. I just caught the sun sinking behind it as we had our pizza on the beach

Patras 100kms

  

It had been raining heavily last night so we thought we'd maybe make it to Kato Archaia., about 70kms away.

 As it happened. The biking was good, mostly flat and a warm sunny day. After an early start, 7am, by  12.00. We'd done 60kms and feeling good so we kept going for Patras

It wasn't just the fact that the rubbish was stretching out onto the road, it had little nasty's that gave me a flat Tyre. Damn, didn't need this today

The country sides getting more affluent now and I've counted 6 nice houses-that mow  their lawns 

Even  The gypsys are having a laundry day. Throwing their clothes into a flat paddling pool and dancing 

around on it in the water

leaking from an irrigation pipe.

Only 30 to go , we should make it!

 Stopped for some energy food

When you die on the road over here you don't just get a simple wooden cross Not here! Its a full blown monument

Carefully tended

Well we made it with an hour to spare .booked on , then were left to find our own way on board

€114 for the both of us, 16 hours and so we nabbed a couple of seats to sleep on. Christine let hers go for a little while and this great snoring machine took her place

We land in Bari at 9.30 am. Brindisi was €200 dearer for some reason. Yay Italy!

 

Olympia

What an amazing experience and another place ticked off our bucket list.

 The first event of the day was the bus ride where a young Greek had to negotiate the narrow streets and moving obstacles to get us there inside his personal best

The €9 entry gets you through the museum and the Olympic site including the stadium. Begun in 900bc it reached its peak about 150bc. 

Sadly, vandalism by invaders, earthquakes, pilphering and finally a series of floods left it covered in silt. Hidden for centuries.

  Then in 1860 a German archeologist rediscovered it and it has been gradually uncovered ever since

What a job!! The site is the size of a town, at least 70 acres

And the final event of the day was a marathon. A typical Greek dinner.We hit the wall and couldn't finish which will haunt me forever

Tripoli to Pyrgos

We hadn't gone 20 metres and a lady came running out of the hotel waving a bill. We hadn't paid for a cup of tea the night before.! Bugger ! Too slow. 

  We want to get to the coast to start biking again so it's back on the bus once more (apparently the trains were axed as part of the new austerity measures )

  

The bus took us to Kyparissia and we set off up the coast. Good flat riding ! For those other cyclists reading this , the coast is the only part you would ever want to ride believe me. Interior roads are too narrow and hills too steep.

Rain was threatening so we pulled in for a coffee and discovered Christine's front tyre had gone down. By the time the coffee was ready I had it fixed

It 's only about 55kms to Pyrgos and although we only had a narrow strip of road it was good riding with only light traffic. Lots of these snakes on the side of the road. Puts Christine off from squatting behind a bush !

Coming in to Pyrgos there were mountains of rubbish on the side of the road. Apparently the city rubbish dump is full and the council haven't yet found another one . The only part of the city that was cleaned was the bits the tourists would visit as they came to see Olympia.

  Bloody disgusting actually

The best part of coming here early in the season is you can negotiate some sharp prices in some rather nice hotels. We want to spend tomorrow as a tourist and see Olympia so we've booked in to the Pantheon for 2 nights